What role does sanctification play in salvation?

The following article below is a continuation of a series of post on "Salvation: Past, Present And Future".

The following link is another articles related to the subject "Salvation: Past, Present And Future".
http://iij-jesus.blogspot.com/2009/12/salvation-past-present-and-future-part.html

What role does sanctification play in salvation?

By Donald Whitney

Since 2005, Don Whitney has been Associate Professor of Biblical Spirituality at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he also serves as Senior Associate Dean. Before that, he held a similar position (the first such position in the six Southern Baptist seminaries) at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri, for ten years. He is the founder and president of The Center for Biblical Spirituality.

How important is this question? This is not an abstract question about theology, it is a down-to-earth issue for both evangelism and ministry. It is at the heart of one of the great plagues of evangelicalism—the unconverted church member. This question is at the root of the “Lordship Salvation” controversy as well as the so-called “Carnal Christian” conundrum, two intensely practical pastoral issues. Moreover, this matter relates directly to Christian parents who long for the conversion of their children. To phrase the question another way, can a person go to Heaven who doesn’t live like a dedicated Christian? If not, and we say that Christian living is necessary for salvation, aren’t we contradicting the Bible’s teaching on salvation by grace and not by works?

What is sanctification? According to question 38 of The Baptist Catechism, “Sanctification is the work of God's free grace (2 Thess. 2:13), whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God (Eph. 4:23, 24), and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness (Rom. 6:4, 6).” (This is identical to the Westminster Shorter Catechism question 35.) Regeneration is the new birth, sanctification is the growth that necessarily results from it. Justification is God’s declaration that a believing sinner is righteous because of the merits of Christ imputed to him. Sanctification is the believer leaving the courtroom where God has once and for all time declared him righteous, and immediately beginning the process whereby God’s Spirit enables him to increasingly conform to Christ’s righteousness, both inwardly and outwardly. Jonathan Edwards said of the Christian’s inevitable desire for sanctification, “‘Tis as much the nature of one that is spiritually new born, to thirst after growth in holiness, as ‘tis the nature of a newborn babe, to thirst after the mother’s breast.”* The process is progressive, but is never completed in this life. Sanctification is ultimately fulfilled in glorification.

In one sense we may say that sanctification has nothing to do with regeneration or justification, and yet it has everything to do with demonstrating that one has experienced them. (Notice statements similar to “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because . . .” in the letter of 1 John.) Sanctification alone doesn’t save, but there is no salvation without it. As Paul told the Thessalonian believers, “. . . God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.” (2 Thess. 2:13). The experience of salvation begins with regeneration and justification, continues with sanctification, and is fulfilled in glorification. All who are regenerated and justified are being sanctified. All who are being sanctified will eventually be glorified. While we may distinguish between regeneration, justification, sanctification, and glorification, we must not separate them. In other words, the person who truly experiences one will experience them all (and in the order listed.)

So the old theological shorthand that “we have been saved, we are being saved, and we will be saved” applies here (emphasis added). Sanctification isn’t included in the “we have been saved” part of salvation, but it is synonymous with the “we are being saved” part. And without sanctification, there is no “we will be saved.” For as Heb. 12:14 teaches, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.”

How do I “Pursue . . . the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord”? Unlike regeneration, there is much Spirit-filled human effort involved in sanctification. On the one hand, “it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Col. 2:13). “On the other hand,” we’re commanded in 1 Tim. 4:7, “discipline yourself for the purposes of godliness.” God uses means of grace to sanctify us, chief of which are the personal and corporate spiritual disciplines. In the personal realm, these include intake of God’s Word, prayer, private worship, fasting, silence and solitude, etc. These are balanced by disciplines we practice with the church: public worship, hearing God’s Word preached, observance of the ordinances, corporate prayer, fellowship, etc. And all along, our confidence is not in ourselves, but in God. As Paul put it, “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6).

Additional Reading:
Biblical: Galatians; 1 John
Theological: Jonathan Edwards, “Religious Affections”
Practical: Jerry Bridges, “The Discipline of Grace”

*Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 2, Perry Miller, gen. ed., Religious Affections, ed. John E. Smith (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1959), page 366.

http://www.9marks.org/CC/CDA/Content_Blocks/CC_Printer_Friendly_Version_Utility/1,,PTID314526_CHID598016_CIID1553028,00.html

Last Friday, the 4th of December, Matt Chandler had surgery to remove a growth on the frontal loab of his brain. He is currently recovering in the hospital receiving physical therapy. The following is a link to Matt's video message to the congregation he pastors, The Village Church, Flower Mound, TX.

Address: http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/blog/pastors/?p=363

Tiger Woods - Sin Makes Us Fools

Tiger Woods' transgressions, should be a signpost to us concerning our own need to deal with our own sins which are so destructive and deceptive. The following is an excellent article from Anthony Carter on how sin has made fools of us all and our need for God's grace to restrain us from sinful foolishness.

Sin Makes Us Fools

When I was playing football (seems like a lifetime ago), we would often say, “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” Since I have been a Christian, especially since receiving the call to ministry, I have been frequently reminded, “Sin makes fools of us all.”

Much has been made of Tiger Woods and his admission of sins and our collective gasp at the seemingly frequent and foolish indiscretions. I admit to not only being saddened but even shocked at these revelations. Also, I am thoroughly disappointed. My disappointment, however, is not only at Tiger, but even at myself. The self-disappointment is the lack of time I really give to consider the nature of my own sin, and if given Tiger’s situation and opportunity, how might I fair.

The Bible reminds us, “Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil” (Psalm 36:1-4).

One popular comedian has said, “A man is only as faithful as his options.” While I would take serious issue with this statement, I am nevertheless left to ponder what might my heart be without the grace of God, the restraining power of the Holy Spirit, a praying wife, and an accountable Christian community of brothers and sisters. Though I like to think otherwise, because of the nature of indwelling sin I am often more like Tiger than I care to admit. To look at Tiger’s life and then to think of him risking all of it for a few (or however many) fleeting moments of pleasure is to think of only one word — foolish. Yet, sin makes fools of us all. And whether it is David, Nebuchadnezzar, Tiger, or me, folly is only a sinful thought or deed away.

The good news is that because we are fools, we are prime candidates for the redeeming grace of God. The Bible reminds us that God redeems the foolish (1 Cor. 1:26ff — at least those who are willing to admit to the folly of their sin). The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the everyday reminder that I have been graciously received into God’s Recovery Program for Fools.

And Tiger, while there are millions already enrolled, there is always room for one more. However, you must be willing to say, “Hi. My name is Tony. I am a fool saved by the grace of God in Jesus Christ, my Lord.”

Anthony Carter is Lead Pastor of East Point Church in East Point, GA and serves as a Council member with The Gospel Coalition.

http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2009/12/10/sin-makes-us-fools/

Salvation: Past, Present And Future - Part 2

This is a contiuation of the post from yesterday concerning Salvation: Past, Present And Future.

Phil. 2:12-13. Work Out Your Salvation?

Phil. 2:12-13 is difficult only when we do not hear it within the context of everything else Paul says about God's work of redemption and our involvement in that work. Certainly since the Reformation, when the essence of Paul's gospel was captured in the joyful proclamation sola gratia sola fide ("by grace alone, by faith alone"), anything which even hints at "works righteousness" or "salvation by works" is suspect. And that is the concern which often emerges when believers read these verses.

A careful look at Paul's teaching on all aspects of God's redemptive work in Christ reveals that salvation is not based on the accumulated merits of our piety and good deeds. No, salvation is God's business from beginning to end. It is inaugurated, maintained and completed by him. Yet we human beings, the objects of that divine activity, are not robots manipulated by the divine button-pusher. We are creatures created in God's image (Genesis 1:26-27), called to respond in faith and love to the Creator and to give ourselves in active participation to God's purposes. It is this dual perspective of divine action and human response and participation which is in view in this text.

The center of Paul's proclamation, repeated in numerous ways throughout his writings, is most concisely and eloquently stated in Ephes. 2:8-9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." The meaning is without ambiguity; there are no conditions imposed (such as "if . . . then"). God's reaching toward us in unconditional love (Romans 5:8) is all grace. We neither deserve it nor earn it, and therefore we cannot take credit for it ("so that no one can boast"). The verb "you have been saved" is in the perfect tense and the passive voice, which means that the action comes from outside ourselves and that it is something which is both an accomplished act and a reality which continues in its effectiveness through the present and into the future.

Now this strong affirmation is immediately followed in Ephes. 2:10 by the words "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works." Here, as throughout his letters, Paul is very clear about the fact that restored relationship with God is the condition within which our lives are being transformed in such a way that God's purposes for our lives are brought about. A few examples will make this abundantly clear.

In Romans 6 believers are defined as those who have been baptized into Christ, buried with him and raised with him so that we "might walk in newness of life" (Romans 6:3-4 RSV). Here the transaction of being saved is pictured as accomplished fact; the "walking in newness of life" as a possibility yet to be realized. Then Paul goes on to say that our sinful self has been "crucified with" Christ, that we are no longer "slaves to sin" (Romans 6:5-11).

The affirmation of this accomplished fact is then immediately followed by the imperative: "Therefore do not let sin reign. . . . Do not offer [yourselves] to sin as instruments of wickedness . . . but rather to God . . . as instruments of righteousness" (Romans 6:12-13).

In Galatians, where salvation by faith in Christ is particularly stressed (for example, in Galatians 2:16, "a man is not justified by observing the law but by faith in Jesus Christ"), Paul can also stress that "in Christ," that is, in our relationship to God in Christ, what really matters is "faith expressing itself through love" (Galatians 5:6). Therefore, "serve one another in love" (Galatians 5:13).

The seeming tension between affirmations of accomplished salvation and a life in which a new reality is expressed and put to work is partially due to the fact that Paul's use of particular words or expressions is somewhat flexible. In this Philippians text, salvation is a reality still in process and yet to be accomplished. In Romans 1:16 and Ephes. 1:13 the term salvation is used in a general, comprehensive sense and as a synonym for gospel (that is, the good news of, and power for, salvation). In 2 Cor. 7:10, repentance is said to lead to salvation. There are other texts in which salvation is depicted as the final stage or event in the redemptive activity of God. The Thessalonians are told that they were chosen "to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit" (2 Thes. 2:13) and that one piece of the Christian's armor against the darkness was "the hope of salvation" (1 Thes. 5:8). The clearest example of the futuristic use of the term is in Romans 13:11, where we hear that "salvation is nearer now than when we first believed."

When we take all these aspects together, we see that Paul thought of salvation as the totality of God's redemptive work; yet he freely used the term also to denote various parts of the whole. The best illustration of Paul's understanding of salvation in its totality, described in terms of its various stages, is found in Romans 5. We "have been justified through faith" (Romans 5:1). To be justified—Paul's most usual term for what happens to us when we respond in faith to God's love in Christ—is to be brought into right relationship with God, a condition he describes as "peace with God" (Romans 5:1). The culmination of that which has thus begun is sharing "the glory of God" (Romans 5:2). Between these two poles, Christian life is characterized by joy in the midst of adversity, hope in the midst of suffering (Romans 5:3-5), because, having been justified by Christ's sacrificial death (Romans 5:9), the continuing work of the resurrected Lord in the life of the believer will lead to final salvation (Romans 5:10).

The larger context for this saying, as worked out above, consists of three elements: (1) the duality of "already" and "not yet"; (2) the actuality of restored relation with God and the necessity of living in newness of life; (3) the understanding of salvation as the comprehensive work of God in which we participate through faith, hope and love. Within this context, Phil. 2:12-13 is best understood.

Paul calls his readers to unity in their common life, to be achieved through humble other-directedness (Phil. 2:1-4), motivated by the example of Christ's humiliation and utter self-giving (Phil. 2:5-11). It is this work of Christ which for Paul is the basis ("therefore") of the imperative "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12). The salvation which comes to us through Christ's "obedience to death" (Phil. 2:8) is to be "incarnated," implemented and worked out, within the context of our relationships with each other. The motivation for this "outworking" is "fear and trembling," not in the sense of "being afraid of," but rather in the sense of "awe," namely, the "awe" which comes when we contemplate God's work of "amazing grace" in Christ.

But this "outworking of salvation" in our human contexts—in Philippi toward unity within the congregation—is not "human achievement" on the basis of which we can "boast." No, for this outworking of salvation is empowered by the continuing operation of God's grace, for God is at work "in you" (or "among you").

Salvation is not something we possess. It is rather a relationship in which we stand. And within that relationship, we become partakers of God's Spirit. Thus Christian action is never "our work"; it is always the outgrowth of a dynamic relationship, whose author and completer is God.

See also comment on Romans 6:2, 7; 2 Cor. 5:17; James 2:24; 1 Peter 1:9.
— Hard Sayings of the Bible

Salvation: Past, Present And Future

Last night at the Wednesday evening service, several asked me about my usage of the termonology of "being saved" and "our need to be saved". We often think of salvation as being something that "has happened". The New Testament teaches it in terms of "Salvation: Past, Present & Future". The following is from Hard Sayings of the Bible concerning the issue of salvation, past, present and future.

1 Peter 1:9. Salvation: Past, Present or Future?

Evangelical Christians frequently speak of being "saved." In other words, it is easy for them to speak of having received salvation at some point in the past, when they committed themselves to Jesus as Lord. But does this language fit with that of 1 Peter? Peter appears to be speaking of salvation as a goal, an end result, not as something already possessed. Does this mean that salvation is uncertain?

Peter uses the term salvation four times in his first epistle (1 Peter 1:5, 9-10; 1 Peter 2:2); he refers to being saved three more times (1 Peter 3:20-21; 1 Peter 4:18). One of these references is to a present process of salvation (1 Peter 3:21, the subject of a later chapter), and the rest refer to a future salvation (except 1 Peter 3:20, which refers to Noah's salvation). In 1 Peter salvation will not be revealed until the last time (1 Peter 1:5). It comes after the end of the present process of suffering for Jesus (1 Peter 4:19). Therefore it is something that one can grow up into (1 Peter 2:2; not "in" as NIV). In other words, Peter is relatively consistent in viewing salvation as something future.

It is true that the New Testament sometimes speaks of salvation in the past tense. Jude 3, for example, speaks about "the salvation we share," and Titus 3:5 states, "He saved us through the washing of rebirth." Acts 15:11; Romans 8:24; Ephes. 2:5, 8; and 2 Tim. 1:9 also speak of salvation in the past tense. But these are a minority of the references to the term in the New Testament. It is far more common to speak of salvation as a present process (1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Cor. 2:15) or a future event (Romans 5:9-10; Romans 10:9; Romans 11:26; Romans 13:11; 1 Cor. 3:15; 1 Cor. 15:2; 2 Cor. 7:10; Phil. 1:28; 1 Thes. 5:8-9; 1 Tim. 4:16; Hebrews 1:14; Hebrews 9:28; Hebrews 10:39). While some may argue with the categorization of this or that verse, the general trend is evident in these lists of passages. Salvation may be thought of in terms of a past event, but normally it is viewed as a future event.

This focus on the future has to do with the very nature of salvation. All of the verses that speak of salvation as past focus on the basis for salvation, which is Jesus' death appropriated by commitment to him (faith), not human rituals, even those in the Old Testament. But most of the verses speak of the reality of salvation, and that is future. Salvation means deliverance from some danger. When the term is used theologically, it means the danger of condemnation in the final judgment (Romans 5:8-9). Since that is the nature of the danger, then the salvation cannot become actual until the final judgment happens. Until that point the Christian has hope of salvation (1 Peter 1:3), but not the salvation itself. By "hope," of course, Peter does not mean an "I hope so" type of hope, but a confident expectation that something will happen. It is the type of hope one has for graduation when the registrar of the school has already indicated that the requirements have been met and one's place in the graduating party reserved.

Salvation, then, is a goal. It is what Christians are moving toward. According to 1 Peter it begins with baptism (1 Peter 3:21), but it is finally revealed only in "the last time" (1 Peter 1:5). The mark of those who are "being saved" is their remaining firm in the faith under pressure.

Should evangelical language be revised? It would not be a bad idea to regain the balance of Scripture. In speaking of salvation almost exclusively as a past event there is a loss of two things. First, there is the loss of a sense of the last judgment. That creates a lack of seriousness about judgment, which no New Testament author had. Second, there is a loss of the sense of tentativeness. It is not those who "make a decision for Christ" (which is not a New Testament term), but those who "stand firm to the end" (Matthew 10:22; Matthew 24:13; Mark 13:13) who will be saved. Historically, theologians have expressed this in two ways. In the Wesleyan tradition, salvation is truly tentative and may be lost, while in the Reformed tradition, God assures that those whom he has truly regenerated will in fact endure (persevere) But both traditions accurately reflect the biblical stress that it is not a one-time decision, even if long ignored, that brings salvation, but a commitment to Christ lived out through obedience to the end of life. Salvation is fully certain, but only for those who are now living life in obedience to Christ. While we must not forget the basis for our salvation and totally stop referring to our having been saved (past) by the death of Christ on the cross, it would be helpful for language about salvation to reflect the tentativeness and sense of the final judgment observed in the New Testament. Then, with 1 Peter, people will look forward to salvation more as a goal than as a past event.

See also comment on Phil. 2:12-13; Phil. 3:10-11; 2 Peter 1:10; 2 Peter 2:20.

Hard Sayings of the Bible
by
Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.
Peter H. Davids
F. F Bruce
Manfred T. Brauch

The Effects of Pornography

From Ed Stetzer, Lifeway Research...

Wednesday December 9, 2009

A new study done by Patrick F. Fagan examines the effects of pornography on individuals, marriage, family and community. Fagan is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Research on Marriage and Religion at the Family Research Council. He specializes in examining the relationships among family, marriage, religion, community, and America's social problems. This study is important for everyone to read as it demonstrates that it has damaging effects on individuals and families. In the summary Fagan explains,

Pornography is a visual representation of sexuality which distorts an individual's concept of the nature of conjugal relations. This, in turn, alters both sexual attitudes and behavior. It is a major threat to marriage, to family, to children and to individual happiness. In undermining marriage it is one of the factors in undermining social stability.

Social scientists, clinical psychologists, and biologists have begun to clarify some of the social and psychological effects, and neurologists are beginning to delineate the biological mechanisms through which pornography produces its powerful negative effects.


Some of the findings inside the study include:

• Pornography is addictive, and neuroscientists are beginning to map the biological substrate of this addiction.
• Users tend to become desensitized to the type of pornorgraphy they use, become bored with it, and then seek more perverse forms of pornography.
• Married men who are involved in pornography feel less satisfied with their conjugal relations and less emotionally attached to their wives. Wives notice and are upset by the difference.
• Pornography use is a pathway to infidelity and divorce, and is frequently a major factor in these family disasters.
• Among couples affected by one spouse's addiction, two-thirds experience a loss of interest in sexual intercourse.
• Many adolescents who view pornography initially feel shame, diminished self-confidence, and sexual uncertainty, but these feelings quickly shift to unadulterated enjoyment with regular viewing.
• The main defenses against pornography are close family life, a good marriage and good relations between parents and children, coupled with deliberate parental monitoring of Internet use. Traditionally, government has kept a tight lid on sexual traffic and businesses, but in matters of pornography that has waned almost completely, except where child pornography is concerned. Given the massive, deleterious individual, marital, family, and social effects of pornography, it is time for citizens, communities, and government to reconsider their laissez-faire approach.

You can (and should) download the study here, and then jump into the comments to talk. Is your church addressing the issue of pornography? Should it? How?


Posted on December 9, 2009 at 5:47 AM

http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/2009/12/the-effects-of-pornography.html

Hunting Tiger Woods

The key to this article by C.J. Mahaney, is found in the last 2 paragraphs - keep reading, it's worth the read.

Hunting Tiger Woods
by C.J. Mahaney 12/3/2009 3:10:00 PM

Tiger Woods wants his privacy back.

He wants the media entourage to disappear from his life.

He wants to be left alone so he can manage his personal problems in private.

Not a chance.

The story began unfolding in the early hours of last Friday when he crashed his Cadillac Escalade into a tree and a fire hydrant near his Florida home. He refused to speak with the police about the incident, raising curiosity about the circumstances. The story has now escalated into allegations of marital infidelity, and that generated a blog post from Tiger that stated, “I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart.” This statement by Tiger has led most to believe that the allegations of infidelity are true.

Hunted by the Media

As expected, the allegations of adultery involving a public figure are attracting a media pile-on. This is a big story with a big audience and it’s a story that will not disappear soon. Tiger Woods is being hunted by the media.

But let us make sure we do not join the hunt. A Christian’s response to this story should be distinctly different. We should not be entertained by the news. We should not have a morbid interest in all the details. We should be saddened and sobered. We should pray for this man and even more for his wife.

And we can be sure that in the coming days we will be in conversations with friends and family where this topic will emerge. And when it does, we can avoid simply listening to the latest details and speculations, and avoid speaking self-righteously, but instead we can humbly draw attention to the grace of God in the gospel.

Hunted by Sin

But Tiger is being hunted by something more menacing than journalists. Tiger’s real enemy is his sin, and that’s an enemy much more difficult to discern and one that can’t be managed in our own strength. It’s an enemy that never sleeps.

Let me explain.

Sin Lies

The Bible in general, and the book of Proverbs in particular, reveals an unbreakable connection between our character, our conduct, and the consequences of our actions. These three are inseparable and woven by God into His created order.

Deception is part of sin’s DNA. Sin lies to us. It seeks to convince us that sin brings only pleasure, that it carries no consequences, and that no one will discover it. Sin works hard to make us forget that character, conduct, and consequences are interconnected. And when we neglect this relationship—when we think our sins will not be discovered—we ultimately mock God.

Sin Hunts

We’ve all experienced it: Sin lies to us. We take the bait. And then sin begins to hunt us.

One commentator on Proverbs articulated this truth like this: “The irony of a life of rebellion is that we begin by pursuing sin…and end up being pursued by it!….You can ‘be sure your sin will find you out’ (Num. 32:23…).”* In other words, sin comes back to hunt us.

In light of this fact, sin is an enemy Tiger can’t manage. He can’t shape this story like he does a long iron on a par 5. Tiger doesn’t need a publicity facelift; Tiger needs a Savior. Just like me. And just like you. And if by God’s grace he repents and trusts in the person and work of Christ, Tiger will experience the fruit of God’s promise that “whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).

Conclusion

Tiger cannot intimidate this enemy like he can Pebble Beach or any of the field of professional golfers. And there is no privacy he can claim from this enemy, regardless of his resolve, his silence, or the name painted on his yacht. It’s likely Tiger only perceives the press hunting him out of a vain “curiosity about public figures.” But Tiger is being hunted and hounded by a far greater foe: the consequences of his sin.

And this story should humble and sober us. It should make us ask: Are there any so-called “secret sins” in my life? Is there anything I have done that I hope nobody discovers? Is there anything right now in my life that I should confess to God and the appropriate individuals?

And this should leave us more amazed by grace because there, but for the grace of God, go I.

-----------------

*John A. Kitchen, Proverbs (Fearn, Scotland: Mentor, 2006), 294–295.

from: http://www.sovgracemin.org/Blog/post/Hunting-Tiger-Woods.aspx

The article below is from Matt Chandler's blog entry today. Matt is one of America's most influential pastors who is committed to calling the Church to refocus on the centrality of God and the Gospel. As of this posting, Matt is in the early stages of surgery to remove a good portion of his right frontal lobe. Please pray for him and for God's glory to be manifested through this trial.

My Heart is full…I am Thankful - Matt Chandler
Matt Chandler 2009-12-04

The last seven days have been some of the most interesting of my life. I have felt anxiety, fear, sadness and a deep and unmovable joy simultaneously and in deeper ways than I have felt before. I am grateful for this heightened sense of things. Today at 10:45 a.m. CST I will have a good portion of my right frontal lobe removed. I head into that surgery with a heart that is filled with gratitude and hope.

Here are some of the things I am thankful for in no particular order:

I am thankful for the thousands of you who have prayed and fasted for my health. It has brought far more tears to Lauren’s and my eyes to receive this kind of attention from the Church universal than this tumor has.

I’m thankful for health insurance because I’m guessing they aren’t doing my five-hour surgery for free!

I am thankful that I have deep, real friendships at The Village with Michael Bleecker, Josh Patterson, Brian Miller, Chris Chavez and Beau Hughes. They have been such a comfort to me and my family this past week. Pastors should have good friends on their staff. It’s risky but worth the risk.

I am grateful for the men of God in my life, namely John Piper who taught me to hold my life cheap and to join with Paul in saying “I don’t count my life of any value or as precious to myself if only I might finish my course and complete the work that He gave me to do to testify to the Gospel of the grace of God. I’m nothing, I just have a job. God keep me faithful on the job and then let me drop and go to the reward.” Without this strong view of God’s sovereign will, I’m not sure how you don’t despair in circumstances like mine.

I am thankful for my wife Lauren. “Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.’” “Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.”

I am thankful for my children. Audrey the Beautiful, Reid the Valiant and Norah the Joyous. Being a daddy to these three is one of the greatest joys of my life. The privilege of seeing and appreciating all of life through the grid of a heightened sense of my own mortality.

I am thankful for brilliant doctors and surgeons who have been given a real gift by our great God and King to repair things as complex as the brain.

I am thankful for The Village Church. If there is a place that loves Jesus more, takes sanctification as seriously and wants to see the lost love the great King deeply I am unaware of it. These last seven years have been a spectacular joy!

More than anything else I am grateful to my King Eternal, my Lord Immortal, for my God invisible. He alone is God. All Glory and Honor, Forever to You O God. I am overwhelmed in these moments by God Himself and the assurance of a future inheritance of a Kingdom that cannot be shaken and where all things are made new (Hebrews 12).

Christ is All,
Matt Chandler

Address:
http://hv.thevillagechurch.net/blog/hvpastor/?p=357